Machine for dispensing lighted cigarettes



June 13, 1933.

R. D, BARNARD MACHINE FOR DISPENSING LIGHTED CIGARETTES Filed Nov. '7, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet l June 13, 1933.` R. D. BARNARD MACHINE FOR DISPENSING LIGHTD CIGARETTES Filed Nov. '7, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FH f4 ze-fJ sie 9 92 4 es |04 T 90C` l,

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MACHINE FOR DISPENSING LIGHTED CIGARETTES 5 Sheets-Shea?l 3 Jun@ E39 E933.;

Filed Nov. 7, 1931 naz m2 azz IZG ESS Inventor; `D. Barnard.

R. D. BARNARD MACHINE FOR DISPENSING LIGHTED CIGARETTES June B, 11.933@

Filed NOV. 7',l 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet l Bzw lJune 13, 1933. R, D, BARNARD 1,914,064

MACHINE FOR DISPENSING LIGHTED CIGARETTES I 6 t F1. q." l5 R.

Fatented .lune 13, 1933 NT STTS PATENT OFFICE f RAY D. BANARD, GF BINNEAPOLIS., MENNESOTA, ASSGNOR F ONE-HALF T0 F. BRATRUD, 0F MINNEAPOLIS MINNESOTA MACHINE FOR DISPENSING LIGHTED CIGARETT'ES Application filed November My invention relates to machines for dispensing lighted cigarettes. An object of the invention is to provide a machine which will light and deliver cigarettes one at a time from a stack of cigarettes. notherobject is to provide a machine which may be manipulated at the will of the operatorso as to deliver either a lighted or unliofhted cigarette as desired. Another object is to provide a machine of this character which is adaptable for use either as a coin-controlled machine or a freely operable machine.

The full objects and advantages of my invention will appear in connection with the detailed description thereof, and the novel features of my inventive idea will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings which illus trate a practical embodiment of my invention,-

Fig. l is a front elevational view of the machine. Fie. 2 is a side elevational view with a portion broken away to show the down or normal position of an operating lever. Fi 3 is a view in horizontal section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 6. Fig 4 (Sheet is a view in vertical section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 8 on a reduced scale. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view of an air regulating valve. F ig. 6 is a view in vertical section on the line (SW6 of Fig. 14 after a casing has been removed and showing a pawl in its normal position. Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view of a pawl and ratchet device showing the pawl in its upper position in dotted lines.

Fig. 8 (Sheet 3) is a view on an enlarged scale in vertical section on the line 8-8 of 4 showing the normal position of an i gniting device. Fig. 9 (Sheet 4) is a central vertical section on the line )*9 of Fig. 8 on a reduced scale. Fig. 10 is a detail view in vertical section showing a portion of an igniting device in its upperL position and ready to move downwardly for striking a spark. Fig. 11 is a view in vertical section on the 7, i931. Serial No. 573,612.

line 11-11 of Fig. 14.v Fig. 12 is a view int horizontal section on the line 12`12 of. Fig.- 8. Fig. 13 is a view in horizontal section on the line 13-13 of Fig. 8. Fig. 14 (Sheet 5) is a view in horizontal section on the line 14-14 of Figs. 4 and 9 on an enlarged scale. Fig. 15 is a View in vertical section on ythe line 1'5-15 of Fig. 14. Fig. 16 is a view in vertical section on the line 16%16 of Fig. 15.

Referring to the construction shown in -l the drawings, the numeral 18 designates aA kbase from which a back plate 20 extends up-y wardly.y .When the machine is adapted. for useas a coincontrolled apparatus, a shelf 22 is supported by the back plate 2O in spaced 60 relation above the base 18 so as to provide .a-` space in which a drawer 24 for receiving coins may slide. When the machine s adapted for use as a freely operable machine it is not necessary to .provide a shelf in addition to the base. The back plate 20 at its two sides is provided with vertical fianges 26 as` shown in Fig. 14. In order to complete ani enclosure in connection with the back plate 20, a casing is provided having a front mem- 7'0l ber 28, two side members 30, and a top mem-v ber 32, the top member and .the side. memr bers being secured to the front member 28 in any suitable manner. The rear edges of the.. side vmembers 3() are provided with a rein- 75- forcement 34 which carries studs 36 adapted to be engaged in slots in the flanges 26 when the casing is fitting in place by giving it a tilting and downward sliding movement. As shown in Figs. 4 and 9, a forwardly eX-' 80 tending flange 38 is carried by the upper end of the back plate 20. The top member carries a lock 40 having a bolt 42 which when extended by turning a key in the lock is engaged under the flange 38. This securely locks the casing in place, thereby preventing tampering with the mechanism and also preventing the money drawer from being pulled` out except by authorized persons for the purpose of removing the coins therein.

A magazine 44 for holding a stack of cigarettes is secured to the back plate 20. As shown in Fig. 9, this magazine is provided with a door 46 which when opened permits the magazine to be filled with cigarettes and when closed keeps the cigarettes in place in a stack. rThe top of the magazine is lined with a humidifier pad 48. As shown in Fig. 9, the magazine has a forwardly and downwardly inclined bottom 50 to which a brace 51 is attached, the front end of the bottom being bent downwardly in spaced relation to the front wall of the magazine so as to provide a passageway for the cigarettes C one at al time. Directly below the passageway thus provided, there is a roller 52 having a shaft 54 which is mounted in the upper ends of standards 56 and 58 extending up from the shelf 22. The roller 52 is provided with a number of equally spaced longitudinal grooves 60 shown as four in number and which are of such size as to form pockets for a single cigarette. Secured to the shaft 54, there is a gear 62 meshing with a gear 64 whose shaft is rotatably mounted in the extended upper portion of the standard 58 as will be understood from Fig. 14. Secured to the side of the gear 64, there is a ratchet wheel 66 which is adapted to be given a movement of rotation in the proper direction by a pawl linger 68 secured to the free end of an arm 70 whose rear end is loose on a shaft 72 mounted in bearings 7 3 carried by the back plate 20. The pawl finger 68 is normally held close to the arm 70 by a leaf spring 74 which permits the linger on its upward stroke to pass over a tooth of the ratchet wheel 66 without turning the latter as will be understood from Fig. 7. Thearm 70 is normally held down in the position shown in Fig. 6 on account of its rear end being engaged by a projection secured to the shaft 72. However, when the shaft 72 is turned to move the projection 75 upwardly, the arm 70 is swung up into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 7 by a leaf spring 76 secured at one end to the plate 20 and having its other end engaging the under surface of the arm.

As will be understood from Figs. 2 and 4, a lever member 78 is mounted on a pivot 80 carried by the upper end of standards 82 extending up from the shelf 22. By referring to Fig. 14, it will be seen that the lever memn ber 78 consists of two parallel bars which are spaced from each other. A. second lever member 84 is mounted on the pivot 80 in such manner that its rear end fits between the two bars of the member 78. A coiled spring 86 connecting the rear of the member 84 with the member 78 tends to hold the two members substantially in alinement with each other, a stop 88 on the member 84 then engaging the member 78. The forward portion of the member 84 extends through a vertical slot 90 in the front casing member 28 and is provided with a finger piece 92 by means of which the member 84 may be depressed. In case it is desired to operate the machine without the intervention of a coin, it will be understood that the lever members 78 and 84 may be rigidly secured together in any suitable manner or they ,may be formed integrally. However, in order to operate the machine as a coin-controlled machine, the following construction is provided. 1t will be observed from Fig. 9 that the lower portion of the casing member 28 is deflected forwardly as indicated at 94 and as shown in Fig. 1 is provided with a coin slot 96 which leads into a coin chute 98 whose lower portion is curved and is provided with a lateral opening 100 through which coin l) passes against a stop 102. By referring to Figs. 2 and 4, it will be seen that the coin enters and is retained in a space between the forward end of the lever member 78 and a lug 104 extending down from the lever member 84. When the member 84 is now depressed, the coin is gripped in this space so that the member 78 is also caused to move so that the rear end thereof moves upwardly. lVhen downward pressure on the linger piece 92 is removed, the spring 86 causes the lug 104 to move away suiiiciently from the end of the lever member 78 to permit the coin to drop through an opening 106 into the coin drawer 24. Vith the machine constructed for operation as a coincontrolled machine, it is obvious that if no coin is inserted, then the member 84 will move downwardly without imparting any movement to the member 78.

By referring to Figs. 4 and 8, it will be seen that an upwardly extending` rod 108 is pivotally attached to the rear end of the lever member 78. The upper end of the rod 108 carries a piston 110 which works in a cylinder 112 whose upper end is attach-ed to a pivot pin 114 mounted in ears 116 and 118 carried by the bach plat-e 20. Two rods 120 and 122 extend down from the cylinder 112 and at their lower ends carry a clamp 124, in which the lower end of a coiled spring 126 is secured, it being understood that the rod 108 is adapted to slide freely through this spring. '.lhe upper end of this spring is secured to an enlargement 128 on the rod 108 just below the piston 110. The top of the cylinder is provided with an upwardly opening flap valve 180 which permits `escape of air from the cylinder when the piston is moved upwardly. It is apparent that this movement of the piston causes the spring 126 to be stretched. Therefore the action of this spring normally keeps the piston 110 and the lever member 78 depressed. In o-rder to provide for proper operation of this part of he machine, the rear end of the member 78 carries an adjustable screw 182 whose lower end is adapted to engage the shelf 22. As

will appear later, the setting of the screw 132 determines the proper stroke for feeding` the cigarette to bring it into alinement with a suction cup in position for lighting.

Near the delivery end of the magazine 44, there are two corrugated rolls 184 and 186 best shown in Fig. 9. The roll 184 extends slightly through the Vfront wall of the maga- Zine while the rod 136 extends slightly through the inclined bottom 50. As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the shafts of the rolls 184 and 136 are provided respectively with pulleys 138 and 140 connected by a belt 142 so that the two rolls are driven inunison in the same direction. The shaft of the roll 136 carries a smaller pulley 144 around which runs a belt 146 which also runs around a pulley 148 secured to the shaft 72 as will appear from Fig. 6. By referring to Figs. 2, 4, and 8, it will be seen that the shaft 72 has an arm 150 secured thereto whose lower end is forked so as to straddle a projection 152 carried by the rearward portion of the member 78. When the depression of the linger piece 92 '5 moves the member 78 from the lowered positionshown in Fig. 4, into the raised position shown in Fig. 2, the shaft 72 is rotated in clockwise direction thereby rotating the rolls 184 and 186 in clockwise direction also as viewed in Fig. 9. The rotation of the rolls 184 and 136 prevents any tendency of the cigarettes to form an arch with consequent clogging of the feed of the cigarettes, thereby assuring the presence of a cigarette ready 'i to drop into one of the pockets of the feed roll 52.

The lighting mechanism will now be described. A liquid fuel tank 154 having a filling opening at 156 is mounted on the side of the shelf 22 opposite that occupied by the operating lever 7 8-84. The tank 154 at its forward portion is provided with a wick 158 adjacent the exposed upper end of which there is a roughened striking wheel 160 which at the proper time operates upon the lower end of a cylindrical flint 162 to strike an igniting spark therefrom as will be understood from Fig. 15. The flint is held slidably in a tube 164 mounted on a standard 166 which projects over the tank 154. In order to hold the flint down upon the wheel 160 with constant pressure regardless of the length of the flint, a stem 168 extends centrally downward from a weight 170 which also has a downwardly extending sleeve 172 which fits slidably around the tube 164. The wheel 160 is secured to one end of a shaft member 174, the other end of which is hollowed out to rotatably receive a shaft member 176 as shown in Fig. 14. The compound shaft 17 4-176 is mounted above the tank 154 in bearings 178 and 180. A pinion 182 is secured to the shaft member 17 6, as best shown in Fig.. 12. The side of this pinion adjacent the rear end of the shaft member 174 is which is slidably mounted in a casing formed with a ratchet 184 engaging a springpressed tooth 185 carried by the shaft member 17 4 as shown in Fig. 12. Therefore rotation of the pinion 182 in one direction will rotate the shaft member 174 and the striking wheel 160,r but reverse rotation of the pinion will not drive'the shaft member 174. The pinion 182 meshes with a rack member 186 188 extending up from the shelf 22 between a partly divided portion of the tank 154, the casing being vcut out to permit the teeth of the pinion 182 to mesh with the rack member. An interior coiled spring 190 in the casing 188 is interposed between the top of the rack member 186 and a projection 192 which eX- tends forwardly from the back plate 20. This spring when` allowed to act, forces the rack member 186 from the position shown in Fig. down into the position shown in Fig. 8 with a quick snappy action, thereby rotating the striking wheel 160` to produce an ignition spark. Forcausing the upward movement of the rack member, a slide 194 is adapted for movement lengthwise of the casing 188. This slide carries two oppositely disposed Vprojections 196 and 198 the under surfaces of which are adapted to be engaged by the branches of a -fork 200 whose rear end is loosely mounted on the shaft 72 as will be understood from Figs. 9 and 11. A projection 202 secured to the shaft 72 engages the underside of the fork 200 whereby the latter is swung from the position shown in Fig. 9 into the position shown in Fig. 11 when the shaft is turned in clockwise direction. A stop pin 204 carried by the slide 194 allows the free end of the fork to drop into the position shown in Fig. 9 so that the upward movement of the slide will not start until the proper time. The slide carries a downwardly extending spring finger 206 having a tooth 208 at its lower end. In the normal position of the machine, the tooth 208 extends into a notch 210 formed nea-r the lower end of the rack member 186. Therefore when the slide 186 is moved upwardly, the rack member is also moved upwardly, it being noted that the casing 188 contains a vertical slot 212 in which the tooth 208 travels. When the slide approaches the upper limit of travel, a pair of projections 214 on the finger 206 ride up on a pair of cam projections 216 extending out from the casing 188 as will be understood from Figs. '8. and 12. This causes the tooth 208 to be pulled out of the notch 210 as shown in Fig. 10 with the result that the spring 190 causes the rack 186 to move downwardly with a very quick movement to give the striking wheel 160 a completeturn and strike a spark from the flint. An exterior Vcoiled spring 218 interposed between the proj ection 192 and the top of the slide 194 tendsto hold the latter down in its normal position.

At the time when the wick 158 is lit in the manner just described, a cigarette has been fed by the roll 52 into the position shown in Figs. 9 and 15 and is retained temporarily in this position by fingers 220 extending down from the magazine so that one end of l the cigarette is exposed to the action of the flame F. At the same time, suction is applied to the other end of the cigarette by means of the following mechanism. A horizontal arm 224 is pivoted at its rear end to the shelf 22 by a pivot 226 as shown in Fig. 14. The front end of this arm carries upward extension 228 as shown in Fig. 15 on the upper end of which is a spring clip 230 as best shown in Fig. 16. This clip detachably holds a suction cup 282, the interior of which has a beveled surface so as to be adapted to tit snugly upon the rear end of a cigarette. The rear of this cup contains a perforation 284 to which the lower end of a flexible tube 236 is fitted. The upper end of this tube is fitted to a valve casing 288 communicating through a short pipe section 240 with the upper portion of the cylinder 112 as shown in Fig. 5. The casing 288 is previded with a needle valve 242 which controls the air and the length of time the cigarette is subjected to suction at a time wh en the piston 110 is making its down strohe. A coiled spring 244 shown in Figs. 14 and 15 is connected at one end to the extension 228 and at the other end to the tank 154. This spring when free to do so, pulls the suction cup into firm engagement with the end of the cigarette. Normally the suction cup is held retracted in the following manner. The arm 224 has a side arm 246 which at its outer end carries a thin upstanding cam member 248 which when the member 78 is down occupies a portion only of the space between the two bars ci'instituting the latter member. ln this position, a rod 50 between the bars `iust referred. to engages the cam 248 thereby holding the suction cup 280 in the retracted position shown in full lines in Fig. 14. When the member 78 is lifted suiiiciently to clear the cam 248, the spring 244 pulls the suction cup into engagement with the rear end of a cigarette. The arm 224 has a second side arm 252 which extends out horizontally in the opposite direction from that in which the side arm 246 extends. A projection 254 extends up from the outer end of the arm 252, the upper end of this projection being turned outwardly to engage in an opening formed in an extension 256 carried by an arm 258 pivoted at its lower end on a pivot 260 secured to the tank 154 as shown in Figs. 9 and 11. The upperend of the arm 258 carries a forwardly extending member 262 which at its front end is provided with a snuiier cup 264 which swings down over the wick and extinguishes the flame at the time when the suction cup 280 is retracted from the cigarette.

The cigarette when delivered from the feed roll 52 drops upon an inclined plate 266 and as shown in Fig. 9 rolls through a horizon tal slot 268 in the front casing member 28 and is deposited upon a curved rest 270 which extends forwardly at the bottom of the slot 268. As shown in Fig. 1, the rest 270 is cut out at its middle so that the cigarette may be easily picked up. The front casing member' is shown with three panels 272, 274 and 276 which may be utilized for carrying advertisements and instructions. As shown in F 2 and 4, a guide 278 is provided at the front of the opening 106 in the top of the money drawer 24. This guide is for the purpose of directing the coin into the drawer in case the operating lever is pushed only part way down and is then released so that the coin is dropped. ln such case, an unlighted cigarette will be delivered since the lighting mechanism has not yet been operated as will be understood from the description previously given. in order that a customer may itnow how far to push the lever in case be desires an unlighted cigarette, an indicating marl: 280 is placed on the casing about midway of the length of the vertical slot 90 and suitable instructions may be placed on the panel 276.

The operation and advantages of my invention will be understood in connection with the foregoing description. Assuming that the magazine 44 contains a stack of cigarettes and that the machine is in normal position, with the operating nger piece in upward position, the customer inserts the proper coin such as a penny F in the slot 96. This coin passes down the chute 98 yand comes to rest against the stop 102 as shown in Fig. 1 in the space between the end of the lever member 78 and the` lug 104 as shown in Fig. 4. The customer then presses down on the linger piece. This operation raises the piston 110 in the cylinder 112 and also imparts a movement of rotation to the shaft 72. The rotation of this shaft causes the rollers 134 and 186 to rotate in the manner previously described to keep the cigarettes in the bottom of the magazine free so that they can be fed. At the same time, the pawl finger 68 is lifted to clear one of the teeth of the ratchet wheel 66. Tf the linger piece should new be released before it reaches its downward position, the stretched spring 126 causes the mechanism to return at once te normal position and the engagement of the pawl linger 68 with a tooth of the ratchet wheel 66 will on account of the gear ratio between the gears 62 and 64 cause the feed roll 52 to malte one-fourth of a rotation and deliver an unlighted cigarette. However if instead of releasing the finger piece 92 when part way down, its movement be continued to its lower limit, the rack 186 will be lifted into the position shown in Fig. 10 and then tripped so as to light the wick in the manner previously described. During this time, the suction cup 232 has been moved into engagement with the rear end of the cigarette as shown in Fig. l5. The customer now immediately releases the finger piece 92 so that the stretched spring 126 causes the piston 110 to descend, thereby sucking air through the properly positioned cigarette and drawing the fiame against the end thereof which is to be lighted.

The cigarette is not discharged before ample opportunity to light it is afforded since the pawl linger 68 has been lifted considerably above t-he ratchet wheel 66 into the dotted line position shown in Fig. 7. Before the feed wheel 52 starts to turn, the suction cup 232 will be retracted and as the feed wheel 52 starts its turning movement, the snuffer 264 will descend upon the wick and extinguish the flame. The parts are caused to return to a normal position for a repeat operation due to the fact that the spring 126 is stretched when the finger piece is depressed. The

mounting of the suction cup 232 in the spring clip 230 permits the cup to be readily detached for cleaning purposes. It will be understood that the setting of the needle valve 242 not only controls the time for which thev cigarette is subjected to suction but also controls the time of feed and delivery of the cigarette.

Although my device is intended particularly for delivering cigarettes, it is to be unf derstood that it may be used for delivering cigars provided that the pockets in the feed roll and the passageway at the bottom of the magazine are made of sufiicient size to carry cigars. The employment of the term cigarettes is, therefore, not to be considered as excluding the use of the machine for delivering cigars.

I claim l. In a machine for dispensing cigarettes, the combination of a magazine for cigarettes, said magazine having a delivery opening at its lower end, a roller underneath said delivery opening having pockets for receiving and delivering cigarettes one at a time, a gear secured to the shaft of said roller, a second gear in mesh with said first gear, a ratchet wheel carried by said second gear, a pawl finger engaging said ratchet wheel., an arm to the forward end of which said pawl finger is secured, a shaft upon which the rear end of said arm is loosely mounted, a spring tending to hold said arm upwardly with said pawl finger out of engagement with said ratchet wheel, a projection carried by said shaft engaging said arm and normally holding the latter downwardly, operating mechanism for giving said shaft a movement of rotation to move said projection away from said arm, and means for restoring said shaft to original position whereby said pawlfinger lwill engage said ratchet wheel to turn said roller in feeding direction. y

2. In a machine for dispensing cigarettes, the combination of al magazine for cigarettes, said magazine having a'delivery opening at its lower end, a roller underneath said delivery opening having pockets for receiving and delivering cigarettes one at a time, a gear secured to the shaft of'said roller, a second gear in mesh with said first gear, a ratchet wheel carried by said second gear, a pawl finger' engaging said ratchet wheel, a-n arm to the forward end of which said pawl finger is secured, a shaft upon which the rearY end of said arm is loosely mounted, a springtending to hold said arm upwardly with said pawl finger out of engagement with said ratchet wheel, a projection carried by said shaft engaging said arm and normally holding the latter downwardly, a second arm which is secured to said shaft, an operating lever engaging said arm and adapted to rock said shaft to move said projection away from said first arm, and a spring for restoring said shaft to original position whereby said pawl linger will engage said ratchet wheel to turn said roller in feeding direction.

3. In a machine for dispensing cigarettes, the combination of a magazine for cigarettes, said magazine having a delivery openingat its lower end, a roller underneath said delivery opening having pockets for receiving and' delivering cigarettes one at a time, a gear secured to the shaft of said roller, a second gear in mesh with said first gear, a ratchet wheel carried by said second gear, a pawl finger engaging said ratchet wheel, an arm to the forward end of which said pawl finger is secured, a shaft upon which the rear end of said arm is loosely mounted, a spring tending to hold said arm upwardly with said pawl finger' out of enga-gement with said ratchet wheel, a projection carried by said shaft engaging said arm and normally holding the latter downwardly, a second arm which is secured to said shaft, a two-part lever having rear and forwardmembers resiliently held in substantial Yalinement with each other, said rear member engaging said second arm and adapted when operated to rock said shaft and move said projection away from said first wardly from said lever and secured to said piston for lifting the latter, a spring sursounding said rod and secured thereto at its upper end with its lower end iXedly secured whereby the Spring is stretched when said piston is lifted, an adjustable stop carried by said lever for determining the stroke thereof, and an air line connecting said cylinder with the other end of said cigarette when the latter is in igniting position.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aix my signature.

RAY D. BARNARD. 

